Addressing Caste Discrimination Challenges in Silicon Valley Tech Industry

When Maya, a Dalit computer scientist, left India in 2002, she thought she was leaving caste discrimination behind. But in Silicon Valley, she faced similar prejudices from upper-caste Indian colleagues. In tech companies dominated by Indians, Dalits like Maya often hide their identity due to fear of job loss or social isolation.

In 2020, California filed a landmark lawsuit against Cisco Systems over caste discrimination, prompting more than 250 Dalit employees from major tech firms like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft to report similar experiences. Complaints included bullying, limited advancement, exclusion, and harassment by higher-caste coworkers.

The U.S. doesn’t have legal protections against caste bias, and many HR departments are unaware of its impact. Dalits make up just a small portion of the Indian diaspora in the U.S., but face widespread discrimination—subtle and overt—in both education and the workplace. Common methods of identifying caste include asking about dietary habits and checking social media profiles.

Though India banned caste discrimination in 1950, it remains embedded in cultural practices. Activists say that with nationalist governments in both India and the U.S., caste-based prejudice has grown more open. For Dalits in America, this antiquated system remains a modern struggle—one now visible in global tech.

Dalit, caste discrimination, Silicon Valley, tech industry, Indian diaspora